Alkenyl alcohols are useful chemical intermediates due to their dual functionalities (a carbon-carbon double bond and a hydroxy group). Allyl alcohol (AA), the simplest alkenyl alcohol, is used in synthesizing epichlorohydrin, 1,4-butanediol, styrene-allyl alcohol copolymers, and diethylene glycol bis(allyl carbonate), a monomer for plastic optical lens (N. Nagato, “Allyl Alcohol and Monoallyl Derivatives,” in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (2005) John Wiley & Sons, Inc., On-line Edition, posted on Feb. 13, 2004).
Allyl alcohol is commercially produced by two processes: isomerization of propylene oxide, and acetoxylation of propylene followed by hydrolysis of allyl acetate. Other methods investigated for allyl alcohol production include allyl chloride hydrolysis and propylene oxidation to acrolein followed by the reduction of acrolein (N. Nagato, supra). Recently, R. Sato et al. reported a process for making alkenyl alcohols by dehydrating diols in the presence of cerium oxide or a cerium-containing mixed oxide (Catal. Commun. 4(2) (2003) 77; J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 221(1-2) (2004) 177). Specifically, allyl alcohol is produced from 1,3-propanediol (PDO). However, improvement of the catalyst is needed to make the process commercially viable.